QOTD: Louis CK on his HBO nudity

No wonder he got cancelled by them after one season, but I love love love that he did this (and how can you not love the guy who asked Donald Rumsfeld “Are you a space lizard who feasts on human flesh?”).

HBO was asking us why there was no nudity on the show, and what they really meant was, Why wasn’t Pamela Adlon, who played my wife, nude? When I hired Pam, I didn’t tell her she was going to be doing anything like that. It wasn’t supposed to be that kind of show. So I said, “You know what, I’ll do it.” And I did that episode, and they were like, “O.K., we have plenty of nudity, thank you.”

"It doesn't have ANY effect on your life. What do you care? People try to talk about it like it's a social issue. Like when you see someone stand up on a talk show and say 'How am I supposed to explain to my child that two men are getting married?' I dunno, it's your shitty kid, you fuckin' tell 'em. Why is that anyone else's problem? Two guys are in LOVE but they can't get married because YOU don't want to talk to your ugly child for five fuckin' minutes?" – comedian Louis CK on gay marriage.

He’s not always so political: in this recent episode of The Daily Show, Louis deconstructs fart jokes and show why they will always, always be funny.

SotBO: Probably at some time Louis CK has said or will say something full of social justice fail. He is, after all, a comedian. When I’m made aware of it, I’ll address it. The moments above will still remain awesome.

2 replies

Well, using hateful language towards children is pretty faily, in theory. Children are one of the most powerless and exploited groups around. But it’s interesting that you’d say that it’s a given that a comedian would have to engage in social justice fail. I’d say it’s common, but certainly not necessary. It might be the way things currently are, but it’s not the way they have to be!
I believe the rape joke that Ta-Nehisi Coates was lecturing “overemotional” rape survivors to just laugh at and get over was, in fact, from one of Louis CK’s routines. That blog mess was last week:http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2011/06/on-rape-jokes-and-anger.html

Totally agree that it’s not the way that things have to be, just that it seems to be awfully rare that a comedian doesn’t put their foot in it somewhere along the line, and I’ve learnt to not enthusiastically endorse comedy performers without caveats. Only two come to mind that I’m fairly sure have not screwed up on the social justice front – Eddie Izzard and Adam Hills. There probably are more – Hannah Gadsby’s great – but I’m not familiar enough with their material to be absolutely sure.
Many more I would say fall into the mostly-conscious camp, who very rarely get it horribly wrong and who are obviously pretty gut-wrenched when they do. But they still fuck up, and it’s important to acknowledge it.
Then you have absolute shitheads like UK comic Frankie Boyle, who still hasn’t apologised for his utterly vile ableist slur against a 9 year old boy.